Fable II
Fable II is an upcoming role playing video game for the Xbox 360, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It is a sequel to Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters. Announced in 2006, the game will take place in Albion, 500 years after Fable's setting, in a colonial era resembling the time of highwaymen or the Enlightenment; guns are still primitive, and large castles and cities have developed in the place of towns. Unlike the original, the player may choose to be either male or female. Lead designer Peter Molyneux has played a major role in presenting this game to the public, as he did in the lead up to the release of the original Fable. The game was awarded gold master status on September 22, 2008. Gameplay Combat Announced at E3 2007, all melee combat takes place on the X button. All ranged combat runs on the Y button and magic on the B button. Flourishes will be shown in a different perspective and time will slow down to show finishing moves. Moves done in melee combat are also dependent on where the player is located. For example, if a player is on top of a tower, pressing the X button may cause the player to throw a certain enemy off of the tower rather than attack with a weapon. Also, in the X360 edition of the combat with a not yet ready combat engine shows you can use the environment which leads on to different combat reaches. The character can get into a bar fight shown in the combat demo (the first tested engine). There are multiple different weapon types known of so far: guns, axes, swords, hammers, and maces. Crossbows remain a possibility. It has been confirmed recently on the Lionhead blogs that the longbows will not be in Fable 2 due to the appearance of guns in Albion. Although bows are no longer available it has been rumoured that upgraded versions of the crossbows will be introduced to keep up with the firearms. From the videos of game demonstration we can infer that each magic spell has an area and a targeted variation depending upon the orientation of the left analog stick. Not touching it will result in a widespread area effect while tilting the left stick will result in a further-reaching directional attack that may inflict more damage. This may or may not apply for all spells, or it may have been scrapped by now. Dog In Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters, the Hero wandered Albion alone and saving all the people, with help sometimes. But Fable 2 brings a new ally on the scene, Man's Best Friend. Molyneux announced that the Hero of Fable 2 shall have a Dog to look after, as well as himself. The player will encounter this Dog early in the game, and it will stay with the player til the end. This dog also goes with the theme of emotion, a theme that Lionhead wishes to be in Fable 2, the emotion with the dog would most likely be love, or maybe even hate. Every dog in the game will be unique and will morph depending on the alignment of the character. The dog has also been said to alert the player to threats, while not showing the player to the threat itself making for a stealthy kill. It is also going to replace the radar we saw in the orginal Fable by telling the Player where they should be going. It will also attack the enemies that have an advantage over the player, such as if the hero had a melee weapon drawn, it would attack the enemy with the Ranged weapon. In a recent interview and game demonstration Molyneux showed some of the interactions players can have with their dog, including buying toys, playing fetch and rewarding or punishing their dogs for their behavior. Obeying three main laws: do not irritate the player, unconditionally love the player and self-preservation, the Dog has been given advanced AI. The dog isn't controllable directly, but the actions of the player will control the dog. If the player goes to attack, the dog will attack as well, if the player starts to run, the dog as well run. Obviously, the dogs behavior is context-specific, and when in towns, or if the player is injured, the dog will stay closer than if it was outside. If the player goes in a shop, the dog will wait outside the door, and go back to the player when it walks out. Also, the dog can be trainable by expressions. Molyneux also revealed that if the player seriously does not want a dog, then they have to run away and escape from it (preferably when it is injured), although the dog will track down the player, causing him or her to run away again. One example given is if the dog is injured and the player leaves and goes to the pub, later there will be a scratching at the door. Someone will open the door for it and observers will react negatively. Co-op Online On July 14th 2008 at E3 2008 lead designer Peter Molyneux demonstrated 'Albion Orbs'. These orbs show where other players are in their respective worlds and allow you to, at the press of a button, bring them into your world to co-op with. The actions of visiting players are permanent in the game, unless the safety feature is activated. Players will be able to give items to visitors. The players' dogs will not accompany them into another player's game. The mode of co-op is somewhat similar to that of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game; in that players will be able to drop in and out of other player's games at will. The host player can set certain rules; eg. how loot gained is split between the players and if friendly fire is active or not. Offline While on the same console, a second player with their own account can drop in and out as a "henchman" to the first player. If the second player on the same console does not have an account of their own, the henchman is made in a brief create screen that pauses the game. Henchmen created this way are not saved into the main player's game. The first player also decides how much bounty the henchman will obtain, e.g. gold and renown. The second player will also be able to port any experience, renown and gold to their own Fable II game via a memory card if they have imported their character and not created the henchmen from scratch. Family Like in the original Fable, you have the ability to fall in love, get married and have sexual relations with this woman - or man. But in Fable 2, the idea of Family has been changed so it fits more in with the theme of Emotion. As in Fable, you have the ability to get married, either by a woman or a man, we are led to believe it still doesn't matter what gender you marry, no matter what gender your character is. You also still have the ability to have sexual intercourse with this partner, but with some new features. Now you can choose between having protected and unprotected sex. Having unprotected sex with a person of the opposite sex can lead the female of the party, be it hero or npc, may get pregnant and concieve a child. This child will stay at home, either with the mother or the father while the hero goes out to do heroic deeds. Depending on the hero's alignment, also dictates the child's alignment, so if you're evil your child will be a little devil and vice versa. Death Originally, in Fable II, if the hero/heroine had died, a child of theirs would take up as the main hero, but that led to testers making more and more children in the game. Then the thought came along of the player's character not dying upon defeat. Rather, he or she would fall unconscious once he or she loses all of his or her health. The enemies would then injure the character while they were unconscious by beating, kicking or stabbing them, which would have left permanent and humiliating scars. Falling unconscious could be avoided with one of three sacrifices: gold, reputation or experience gained. At GDC 08, Molyneux indicated in interviews that the design for death had changed due to player feedback during play testing. It was found that players would rather turn off their console than subject their character to permanent disfigurement. The newest thought is that if the hero was killed, a small amount of experience points are subtracted, causing the player to burst into "hero mode," which repels away enemies long enough for the player to escape. Alignment Unlike the original Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters, there are now other alignments apart from good and evil. Lionhead has decided to add more choices concerning how you customise your player. These new scales of alignment include: * Purity and corruption * Cruelty and kindness * Mind and body * Wealthy and poor These new scales of alignment will allow players to create a possible 32 different combinations, for a truly unique experience everytime you play. Achievements Here is the entire list of achievements, and their points, in Fable 2: *'The Pooch Pamperer': Play fetch with your dog, or see another Hero's dog play. (5 points) *'The Archaeologist': Dig up something the dog has discovered, or see another Hero do so. (5 points) *'The Dog Trainer': Teach your dog a trick, or see another Hero's dog learn one. (5 points) *'The Persuader': Convince a villager to give you a present, or see another Hero do so. (5 points) *'The Show-off': Impress a villager with a perfect expression, or see another Hero do so. (10 points) *'The Romantic': Take a villager on a perfect date, or tag along to one. Location and expressions are all-important. (10 points) *'The Spouse': Marry a villager, or attend the wedding of another Hero. (10 points) *'The Parent': Have a child, or be there for the birth of another Hero's child. (10 points) *'The Hunter': Kill a sweet, innocent, fluffy bunny rabbit (remember, safety's off!) (5 points) *'The Gargoyle': Find the gargoyles' legendary treasure. (25 points) *'The Chicken Kicker': Kick a chicken a good distance, or see one getting kicked. (5 points) *'The Cliff Diver': Cliff dive 500 feet, or see another Hero do so. (10 points) *'The Workhorse': A Hero must achieve a high-enough chain while performing a job. (10 points) *'The Hero of Many Names': Change your Hero's title, or see another Hero change theirs. (5 points) *'The Teaser': Make bandits respond to expressions with fear, anger, mirth, and confusion... during combat! (5 points) *'The Property Magnate': A property must be sold for twice the price it was bought for. (10 points) *'The Rogue Steal': Steal something undetected from a building while there are people nearby, or see another Hero do so. (5 points) *'The Illustrated Hero': Tattoo every part of your Hero's body, or see another Hero do so. (5 points) *'The Executioner': Sacrifice ten people in the Temple of Shadows, or see another Hero do so. (10 points) *'The Gambler': A Hero must win 500 gold at a pub game in one sitting, having tried each game type at least once. (10 points) *'The Bigamist': Get married a second time, whilst already married, or attend the second wedding of another Hero. (10 points) *'The Swinger': Take part in a debauched bedroom party with several participants. (5 points) ' *'The Pied Piper': Start a party where at least five villagers are dancing, or see another Hero do so. (10 points) *'The Party Animal': Get five villagers drunk in under three minutes, or see another Hero do so. (10 points) *'The Menace To Society': Commit an act of public indecency, or see another Hero commit one. (5 points) *'The Black Knight': Shoot the weapons from a hollow man's hands, blow off his head and then kill him for good! (10 points) *'The Duellist': String together a full-speed chain attack, or see another Hero do so. (10 points) *'The Sharpshooter': Hit three enemies with one shot, or see another Hero do so. (10 points) *'The Archmage': A Hero must kill five human enemies with one spell. (10 points) *'The Ruler of Albion': Amass a 2.5 million gold real estate empire, or be there when another Hero does. (100 points) *'The Hoarder': Collect every silver key, or see another Hero do so. (25 points) *'The Goth': A Hero must dye their hair black, and wear a black outfit and black makeup. (5 points) *'The Completionist': Get all expressions, pet tricks and abilities, or see another Hero do so. (50 points) *'The Paragon': Reach 100% good or evil, or see another Hero do so. (15 points) *'The Extremist': Reach 100% purity or corruption, or see another Hero do so. (15 points) *'The Celebrity': Reach 50,000 renown, or see another Hero do so. 50 *'The Artisan': Succeed at one job to Level 5, or see another Hero do so. (10 points) *'The Dollcatcher': Collect all the Hero dolls, or see another Hero collect them. (10 points) *'The Muse': Inspire the Bard to compose songs celebrating your great deeds. ( 5 points) *'The Companions': Perform a perfect co-op expression. (10 points) *'The Double Threat': Get a co-op combat bonus. (10 points) *'The Philanthropist': Send a gift to an Xbox LIVE friend, or watch another Hero send one. (10 points) *'The Whippersnapper': A child Hero must collect five gold pieces. (25 points) *'The New Hero': The terror of Bower Lake must be defeated. (50 points) *'The Hero of Strength': Complete The Hero of Strength. (100 points) *'The Hero of Will': Complete The Hero of Will. (100 points) *'The Hero of Skill': Complete The Hero of Skill. (100 points) *'The Sacrifice': A Hero must choose 'The Needs of the Many'. (25 points) *'The Family': A Hero must choose 'The Needs of The Few'. (25 points) *'The Egomaniac': A Hero must choose 'The Needs of the One'. (25 points) Features Expressions Like in ''Fable, there are many expressions that can be used by the player in order to communicate with other people, including dancing, laughing, taunting, etc. This feature has been improved as shown in E3 2008; the player can use a button to access the expression menu at any time, which is a circular set of buttons that each lead to a different category. New expressions are included, such as "Who Are You ?", that, when asked, show some information about an NPC's personality, and their interests towards the player. For example, if the player can get an NPC to laugh, the NPC will give the player a reward. Similarly, if the player can make an NPC love the player, the NPC may marry the player. These scenarios can only be achieved through the use of expressions, sometimes through an extended expression mini-game. Some expressions have been taken to yet a further level of depth. In an interview with Game Informer Magazine, it was revealed that the player can even adjust the duration and tone of belches and farts. Content According to an IGN preview, Albion will be about ten times the size it was in the previous Fable title. While Molyneux has stated that the player can complete the main story in 12 hours if they rush through it, it would take 100+ hours to complete everything in the game. Molyneux has stated that it will cost about 100 million gold to buy every item in the game. Cutscenes There will be both interactive and a few non-interactive cutscenes in the game.Xbox.com | E3 2007 - Welcome to the Xbox.com E3 Blog According to Lionhead, the non-interactive cutscenes will consume less than five minutes of game time. In the fully interactive cutscenes a player can use their expressions during the dialogue or even run away from the scene, thus skipping it. Dynamic world The world in Fable II will be fully dynamic, interactive and free roaming with no set quest path to take and will include all 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). Since the game will take place over a hero's lifetime, many things will change; Molyneux gave an example of a trade camp that the player could either help or destroy. Trading in such camps would increase their profit, resulting in a small town growing around them, while stealing from the camp or massacring the camp will result in the abandonment of the area. Additionally, every accessible property (properties that can be entered by the player) in the world is ownable, and ownership often unlocks further quests. When stores/property are owned you will earn Gold every 5 minutes, this happens when your Xbox is turned off as well. Players will be able to furnish the houses with furniture and other items available for sale. In addition, titles will be awarded for buying property; if one were to buy every building and piece of land in a town he may become the mayor of that town; owning more land leads to higher titles such as king, and eventually emperor of the entire land of Albion.IGN: Fable II Preview The environment in Fable II will feature trees with branches and leaves that are individually animated according to their own physics, each tree having roughly 120,000 leaves. There are also around 15 million poppies in Albion. Peter Molyneux also has revealed the "bread crumb" trail, a feature that shows glowing sparkles in a line in front of you to guide you back to the main story line. Molyneux also said players are free to turn off this feature at any time and venture on their own path to that quest, or just completely ignore the quest and explore more of Albion or partake in a side quest. In Fable II Pub Games, an unlockable concept art shows a map of a coastline unlike the one from the original game. Whether this is a new area or a revamp of the original is unknown. Pre-release marketing Tales of Albion Lionhead Studios released a section on their website entitled "Tales of Albion"Lionshead Studios "Tales of Albion", which provides a back-story to Fable, Fable: The Lost Chapters, and Fable II. In "Fragments of the Old Kingdom", it details how the Archon came to power in Albion, and how the Heroes' Guild was founded. "Tales" also chronicles the ruin of the Guild in "Fall of the Heroes", and will describe Albion in Fable II with "Travels in Today's Albion". Online competitions Just as Lionhead has done with The Movies, online competitions were made available through Lionhead's forums. One such competition was naming a title to be used in the game, similar to the first game wherein a character was addressed by various titles that the character purchased from a "Title Vendor" Lionhead has stated these titles will be bought but they have to be earned first. They are bought from a town crier in Fable II; the winning title was Lionheart. An "insult the hero" competition is also taking place and the winner is yet to be announced. On May 30th, Lionhead held a competition for artwork that would be used in the game. Video Diaries -- On May 24, 2007, Episode One of The Lionhead Diaries, examining the love and emotion aspect of Fable II was released.Lionshead Studios Video Diaries -- On July 30, 2007, Episode Two was released, highlighting the one-button combat system, and featured the Lionhead staff playing a game of football against fellow Microsoft satellite Rare (company) and winning.It also included a professional combat specialist instructing the animation staff. -- On October 8, 2007, Episode Three was released, going in depth about the Central Technology Group, and featured Lionhead's 10 year Anniversary. -- On January 11, 2008, Episode Four was released, focusing on how the graphics department made the world of Albion. -- On March 19, 2008, Episode Five was released, looking at magic, GDC 2008 and co-op. -- On June 24, 2008, Episode Six "Art and the Hero" was released. -- On October 5th 2008, Episode Seven "Music and Audio" was released. Technology The graphics engine is written in-house, but middleware is integrated for several other parts of the game: Havok is used for a physics engine and Kynapse is used for some AI. Alienbrain 8 is used to track assets such as 3D Models, files, and art.Technology – Loinhead - the No.1 Lionhead news source : Fable 2 Technology Collector's Edition A Collector's Edition will be released with the game on release date, The Collector's Edition features : * 1 Bonus Xbox DVD: Videos, New Making-of Feature, Roaming Hobbe short, Concept art viewer * 1 token card for in-game content (downloadable over Xbox LIVE) * 1 LIVE trial card – 48 hours * Disclaimer: for the next items you must have an XBOXLIVE account * “The Wreckager” Legendary Cutlass Weapon * “The Hall of the Dead” Dungeon * Otherworldly bonus (Spartan Armor and an Energy Sword) - advertised with image of an outfit reminiscent of Master Chief Originally the collecter's Edition also contained a premium box, a collectible Hobbe figure, and five different fate cards. These parts of the packaging were canceled recently. References External links * Official UK website * Official US website * Developer website * Video Diary site * Fable 2 report and image Category:Games